is alone dealing here, was divided in regular but not equal portions between these objects.

"But the second part of all his revenues, which came yearly into his possession and was included. in the receipts of the exchequer, as we mentioned a little before, he with ready devotion gave to God, ordering his ministers to divide it carefully into four parts, on the condition that the first part should be discreetly bestowed on the poor of every nation who came to him; and on this subject he said that, as far as human discretion could guarantee, the remark of Pope St Gregory should be followed, 'Give not much to whom you should give little, nor little to whom much, nor something to whom nothing, nor nothing to whom something.'

"The second of the four portions was given to the two monasteries which he had built, and to those who therein had dedicated themselves to God's service, as we have mentioned before.

"The third portion was assigned to the school which he had studiously collected together, consisting of many of the nobility of his own nation.

"The fourth portion was for the use of all the neighbouring monasteries in all Saxony (Wessex) and Mercia, and also during some years, in turn, to the churches and servants of God dwelling in Britain (ie. Wales), Cornwall, Gaul, Armorica, Northumbria, and sometimes also in Ireland. Ac

cording to his means, he either distributed to them
beforehand, or afterwards, if life and success should
not fail him."

Even if the working out of this scheme was not
quite so methodical as Asser makes it on paper,
it is important as an index of Alfred's aims and
his many-sided view of the duties of a king. His
plan might be illustrated by a diagram thus:

Such a scheme of expenditure is in itself a crown
of honour which few men have woven for their
memories. The best comment on its significance
is a passage which may be quoted from Sir Henry
Taylor. "So manifold are the bearings of money
upon the lives and characters of mankind, that an
insight which should search out the life of a man
in his pecuniary relations would penetrate into
almost every cranny of his nature. He who knows,

like St Paul, how to spare and how to abound has a great knowledge; for if we take account of all the virtues with which money is mixed up-honesty, justice, generosity, charity, frugality, forethought, self-sacrifice and of their correlative vices, it is a knowledge which goes near to cover the length and breadth of humanity, and a right measure in getting, saving, spending, giving, taking, lending, borrowing, and bequeathing would almost argue a perfect man." 1

The quotation would not be as true of eastern as of western nations; but for England it comes so near to an acknowledged truth that we shall feel that we are not following any accidental order, but a most fit and natural one, if we accept Alfred's division of his revenues as our guide in following him through his manifold activities and reforms. Without being at least methodical enough to follow the king's own methods, we should inevitably lose our way among the many good works to which he put his hand.

1 Sir Henry Taylor's "Notes on Life," quoted by Lecky in " Map of Life," p. 250.